Fenerbahce handed two-year ban

28 August 2013 01:32

Fenerbahce have been excluded from European competition for the next two years after losing an appeal to the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) against a UEFA sanction for match-fixing.

The Turkish side had been due to go into the Europa League following their defeat by Arsenal in the Champions League qualifiers but will now be excluded from that and also from all European competitions next year.

Ukrainian side Metalist Kharkiv's appeal against a one-season exclusion from UEFA's club competitions - also for match-fixing - has also been upheld by CAS.

UEFA welcomed the CAS decisions and will hold a meeting on Thursday to decide which club will take Fenerbahce's place in the Europa League group stage.

UEFA said in a statement: "UEFA welcomes the decisions of the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) rejecting the appeals made by Fenerbahce SK and FC Metalist Kharkiv against the UEFA Appeals Body decisions of 15 July 2013 and 14 August 2013 respectively.

"The UEFA Emergency Panel will meet on Thursday afternoon to decide on the consequences the confirmed exclusion of Fenerbahce SK from the 2013/14 UEFA club competitions will have on the UEFA Europa League."